Lauren & Jeremy King's Belgravia home

Grey & Yellow

When I first met Lauren, she
described how surprised she was to find how expensive it was,
compared to the US, to furnish a house from the shops in London. 'I
think it's a little bit naughty,' she says. 'I've moved house so
many times that I have a good understanding of the real value of
things.' This was another motivation for starting her business. But
that's not to say that Lauren is against investing in the right
piece of furniture in the same way she would a piece of art. She
simply knows what she likes and believes in paying - and charging -
a fair price for it.

I had already warmed to Lauren - a
woman with far more grace than airs - when, in her soft southern
American accent, she revealed with delight that a lamp I had been
admiring in the drawing room was 'a real cheapy'. And when I
noticed that it sat in pride of place under a Lucian Freud, I could
also see that she practised what she preached.